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PREVIEW: Minicine at The Arch // Never Let Me Go

This month we return to The Arch Café in Leeds city centre for a Saturday matinee screening as part of our Human Nature Season. Due to ongoing flooding repairs at Armley Mills, The Arch have been kind enough to take us in once again and, after a successful start to our 2016 programme with Her in January, we are very excited to get back there and show the oh so emotional Never Let Me Go, which once again poses the question ‘what makes us human?’

Director Mark Romanek and writer Alex Garland (Ex Machina) bring Kazuo Ishiguro’s (‘The Remains of the Day’) hauntingly poignant and emotional story to the screen. In this remarkable tale of love, loss and hidden truths, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.

Prior to 2010’s Never Let Me Go, Mark Romanek director the dark story of loneliness and obsession One Hour Photo, starring a very against type Robin Williams, in 2002. Before that he directed his feature debut Static way back in 1985. It was between these two films that Romanek established himself as one of the premier music video directors. Ever. Having worked with the best of the best – David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, Coldplay, U2 and most recently Taylor Swift – Romanek is highly regarded by clients and peers for his professionalism, perfectionism and consistent excellence. His Kubrickian approach to film design has, on occasion, seen him hailed as an heir apparent, although Romanek’s work offers an affecting human quality – a feature many have long pointed out is sorely lacking in Stanley Kubrick work. Either way, Mark Romanek has in recent years been linked with directing The Overlook Hotel, a prequel to Kubrick’s horror masterpiece The Shining.

We are pleased to welcome Niamh Foley of Leeds Book Club to The Arch this month for a discussion about the pros and cons of film adaptation, or, if you prefer, films vs. books. Never Let Me Go has been a popular choice among Leeds Book Club members so this seems the ideal screening to have such a discussion. We’ll keep it cordial, we promise.

Never Let Me Go screens at The Arch Café in Leeds city centre on Saturday 27 February from 4pm, but why not come down early and grab yourself a tea or coffee first? The feature presentation will be preceded by a short film and, as always, there’ll be free cake on hand. Tickets are available from our online ticket office.